Cloverstar's Difficult Choice
by Unbreakable Me
Summary: This is a one-shot challenge for Lightclan and, a sort of a part of my series The Birth of the Leopard. This is a sort of sneak-peek into one of my later books/ stories, so, please read, review, and enjoy!


The night had only just fallen silent as the last caterwauls and yowls trailed off, the scents of blood and death could be scented. In a hollow in the meadows that made up Windclan's territory laid the Windclan camp; Or, what remained of the Windclan camp. The beams of the full moon washed the camp in a whitish light, illuminating the blood-soaked ground. The bodies of numerous cats littered the ground of the clearing, while other cats milled around.

A pinkish gray she-cat stood in the middle of the clearing, looking around with saddened of the cats that hadn't come to the Gathering were killed, while the rest were hurt. The only ones who were unhurt were the six kits who had been hidden by their mothers. As the she-cat looked around at the bodies of the cats, a dusty brown tom padded over to join her.

"How many dead, Dustypelt?" She asked, her voice cold and unfeeling.

"Nine dead, Cloverstar, the others all injur-"

"Who were killed, Dustypelt?" Cloverstar asked her deputy, who slowly nodded.

"Tawnypelt, Plumclaw, Nightcloud, Mistpaw, Stonygaze, Thrushwing, Specklepelt, Littlepaw… and Dawncloud…" Dustpelt said slowly, watching his leader with barely concealed concern.

Cloverstar took a deep breath as she closed her eyes, taking in what he had said. Nine dead, two elders, two apprentices, and a nursing queen. All of which the Warrior Code prohibited to be killed in battle. All were great losses to their clan. And Dawncloud… Her own mother, killed by Shadowclan.

She opened her eyes again to look at Dustpelt as she made up her mind. "We must hold vigilance for those who have passed before we bury them. Make sure Ravenfeather and Poppypaw check everyone's wounds and treats them."

She waited until Dustpelt had nodded and turned to carry out her order before turning to look up at the full moon. If only they hadn't gone to the Gathering, this wouldn't have happened. She was brought out of her musings at the approach of a cat and she turned to see a light grey she-cat walking to toward her.

"Cloverstar, Dawncloud-" The light grey she-cat said, to which her leader cut her off.

"I know, Morningflower. I know," The pinkish-grey she-cat said, green eyes full of sadness.

"I'm sorry, Cloverstar, but, she was my mother as well," Morningflower said, her own blue eyes full of sadness.

"I know, Morningflower and, I;m sorry as well, I-"

"I know, Cloverstar," Morningflower said with a small smile which didn't reach her eyes. "I was going to tell you this tonight after the Gathering, but… I', going to be moving into the Nursery…"

Cloverstar looked at her littermate with wide eyes before she mentally shook herself.

"Well, congratulations, Morningflower. Who is-"

"Swiftwhisker is the father, Cloverstar," Morningflower said, naming the tom who their previous leader, Hailstar, had taken in when they found him has a kit near the border alongside the body of his dead mother, a loner. They had both grown up with him, and Cloverstar knew that her sister and the tom had always been close.

"Well, congratulations to the both of you," The pinkish-grey she-cat said with a small smile.

"Thank you, Cloverstar, but… What are we going to do? We can't stay here and-"

"We're going to go and ask Riverclan and Thunderclan for help, either to fight back our territory or even for us to stay with them until we have regained our strength. If we don''t… I don't know where we will go…"

"Then we'll do that and, one day, we'll get back our territory. Now, come, we had best go and mourn the ones who we have lost. We have a big day tomorrow, don't we?" Morningflower asked with a small smile, to which Cloverstar returned with a smile.

"Yes, let's do that," Cloverstar said, nodding in agreement as the two she-cats turned and headed over to where the nine bodies of the deceased cats were laid out to allow the cats to mourn their deaths.

Cloverstar ran up to the small mound in the middle of the clearing and jumped up to look down at her clan.

"Tonight we were ambushed by Shadowclan while most of us were at the clearing. Tonight, we mourn the losses of the nine cats who fought against their attackers, who died honorably for their Clan. Tomorrow, we shall bury the dead before we go to ask Riverclan and Thunderclan-" She was cut off by the clan's exclamations and waved her tail for them to quiet down.

"Why do we need to go to those fish-breaths and kittypets for help?" A pure black tom called out, his green eyes flashing with anger. The clan murmured in agreement before the familiar mew of Morningflower rang out.

"Let our leader speak and give us our reasons!" Morningflower yowled, to which the clan finally settled down.

"We need to ask Thunderclan and Riverclan for their help," Cloverstar said firmly, nodding to Morningflower, "Because we have no other choice. We have six young kits to think of, and two queens who are expecting, plus none of us are unhurt. We have no where else to go, and we are too weak for us to fight yet. We will get our territory back, and we shall get our vengeance, but the time for that is not now. We must regain our strength, for Shadowclan is both strong and large. Now, we must mourn for those lost and ready ourselves, for tomorrow is a big day."

As soon as she was done speaking, she leapt down to pad over to the still body of an older pinkish-grey she-cat and laid down beside the body, placing her muzzle in her mother's fur, breathing in the scent of her mother. She sensed her sister crouching down beside her and knew that her grief was being shared. She settled in for a long night, and she couldn't help the last thought of, 'If only they hadn't gone to the Gathering, then her mother would still be alive, and so would the other eight cats."


End file.
